England could walk off if players racially abused in Argentina

England's rugby captain Jamie George revealed that the team is contemplating a drastic measure: walking off the pitch if any player is subjected to racial abuse during their upcoming match against Argentina.

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It's something being considered. If anything like that happened then it deserves the strongest of reactions. There is no place for that in the world and I feel incredibly strongly about that.

This consideration comes after England replacements Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Chandler Cunningham-South faced abuse during a game in San Juan last year. While World Rugby condemned the incident, they were unable to identify the perpetrators. The tension between the teams was further highlighted by a heated exchange involving Argentina's coach Felipe Contepomi and England flanker Tom Curry during a previous match.

George, who will captain the side in the absence of Maro Itoje, stressed the severity of the situation. "It's something being considered," he said. "If anything like that happened then it deserves the strongest of reactions. There is no place for that in the world and I feel incredibly strongly about that."

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We've had discussions around 'what if?'. I really hope – and I'm optimistic – that the Argentinian Rugby Union has taken it very seriously. At the same time we've got a plan B if that doesn't happen.

The team has discussed potential "what if?" scenarios and is working on a plan. "The first thing we'd do is make the referee aware of what we've seen so it can be properly logged and all the protocols can go into play. What we do outside of that we're still deciding," George explained. He also noted that he would continue conversations with players from diverse ethnic backgrounds to finalize their strategy.

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The first thing we'd do is make the referee aware of what we've seen so it can be properly logged and all the protocols can go into play. What we do outside of that we're still deciding.

Reflecting on the past incident, George stated, "It's something I will remember for the rest of my life when I heard what had happened – and it wasn't directed at me. It was directed at my team-mates and I care about my team-mates more than anything."

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It's something I will remember for the rest of my life when I heard what had happened – and it wasn't directed at me. It was directed at my team-mates and I care about my team-mates more than anything.